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18 of the most beautiful libraries in the world

8. Codrington Library, England

The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford, was founded by Henry VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1438, but it wasn’t until 1710 that the school’s library received its most prominent donation: Christopher Codrington’s legacy of £10,000 to rebuild the structure and his personal collection of 12,000 volumes. The new library buildings were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and were completed in 1752. The collection houses around 185,000 volumes, about a third of which were printed before 1800.

8. Codrington Library, England

The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford, was founded by Henry VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1438, but it wasn’t until 1710 that the school’s library received its most prominent donation: Christopher Codrington’s legacy of £10,000 to rebuild the structure and his personal collection of 12,000 volumes. The new library buildings were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and were completed in 1752. The collection houses around 185,000 volumes, about a third of which were printed before 1800.